Entertainment in 2018: #Movements shake it up

THIS year has been a time of great change and reflection for the entertainment industry as the #Me Too and #Times Up movements gained momentum, with plenty of heads rolling in Hollywood.

From shocking reality TV finales to a breakfast TV host's fall from grace and a viral Gold Logie campaign, things have been just as turbulent here in Australia.

On the bright side, viewers are embracing all shapes and sizes on our favourite movies and TV shows.

We celebrated the first gay wedding on TV, finally got our own original Netflix series and we may even have another Aussie Oscars host on the cards.

Embracing diversity

There have been some big wins this year for the representation and equality of women and minorities.

Media mogul Oprah Winfrey had to cool down calls for her to run for the US presidency after she was awarded the Cecil B de Mille Award at the Golden Globes.

Winfrey stirred audiences globally in her acceptance speech - she was the first black woman to win the award - which was both a personal reflection and a call to arms.

Oprah Winfrey’s recent Golden Globe speech has been described as inspiring.

Australian comedian Hannah Gadsby became an international sensation almost overnight thanks to her Netflix stand-up special Nanette, which was as much an emotional monologue about her experiences with homophobia and sexual assault as it was about punchlines.

She has since tackled the misogyny of Hollywood's "good guys" in a speech at the Hollywood Reporter'sWomen in Entertainment event and is now a hot favourite to replace Kevin Hart as this year's Oscars host.

After the same-sex marriage bill was passed late last year, Neighbours made history by airing the first legal gay wedding on Australian television. Magda Szubanski, a long-time equal rights campaigner for the LGTBQI community, officiated the nuptials.

Glee creator Ryan Murphy also made TV history with his acclaimed drama Pose, which stars the largest cast of transgender actors for a narrative TV series.

Shocks and scandals

Once-loved TV personality Karl Stefanovic has fallen from grace after his private life dominated headlines this year.

First there was the Ubergate scandal, during which details emerged of a backseat conversation in which he and younger brother Pete, co-host of Weekend Today, slammed Nine bosses and Karl's Today co-host Georgie Gardner.

The brothers both issued an apology, but it seems Karl's divorce from Cassandra Thorburn, his wife of 21 years, and his subsequent fast-moving romance and marriage to shoe designer Jasmine Yarbrough had Today show viewers turning off in droves. His lack of chemistry with Gardner didn't help either.

After much speculation, Karl was axed from Today two weeks ago but is still contracted to the Nine Network for another year. His brother Pete also chose to leave the network after 15 years.

Another much-loved larrikin whose image was tarnished this year is Nick "Honey Badger" Cummins. The Rugby Union player swapped the footy field for reality TV as this year's Bachelor.

Brittany and Nick seemed like a sure thing. Picture: The Bachelor.

But going on the reality dating show did more harm than good to his public persona when he sensationally chose to break up with both finalists and walk away from the show's finale the same way he went in: single.

Bachelor fans were further angered when he left the country when the finale aired, leaving finalists Brittany Hockley and Sophie Tieman to face the media scrum. In tear-filled interviews, the pair seemed to have no idea why Cummins wasn't interested in pursuing a relationship with either of them.

Oscar-winning actor Geoffrey Rush has also spent much of this year fighting sexual harassment allegations in his court case against The Daily Telegraph for a front-page article published in November last year.

The trial concluded last month and a decision is expected at the beginning of 2019, but Rush found himself back in the headlines this month when actor Yael Stone revealed fresh harassment claims in an explosive interview with The New York Times.

Rush has vehemently denied the actor's claims.

Biggest blockbusters

Marvel's superhero epic Avengers: Infinity War topped the Aussie box office this year, grossing more than $46 million - a cool $10 million more than its closest competitor, Pixar's Incredibles 2.

Which superheroes are returning remains in doubt.

The mammoth film, which brought together storylines from the past decade of Marvel films, is also the highest grossing film worldwide earning more than $2 billion.

Black Panther, which dominates the 2019 Oscars shortlist, Bohemian Rhapsody, Deadpool 2, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and A Star is Born all grossed more than $20 million at Aussie cinemas.

Ladies in Black was the most commercially successful Australian film of the year, grossing $8.5 million locally.

The Logies moved to the sunny Gold Coast but it was Grant Denyer's surprising Gold Logie win which had everyone talking. After a short but intense campaign by comedian Tom Gleeson, who admitted he was taking the mickey out of the publicly-voted award, Denyer overtook front-runner Tracey Grimshaw.

Grant Denyer, former presenter of Family Feud, poses with his Gold Logie awards at the 2018 Logie Awards at The Star Casino. Pictures: Dan Peled

It was a bittersweet win for Denyer, whose popular game show Family Feud was axed by Ten. He quickly moved on, though, to Game of Games. Denyer will also co-host Ten's reboot of Dancing With The Stars with fellow Gold Logie nominee Amanda Kellernext year.

There was a huge shake-up in sports broadcasting rights with Nine picking up tennis, Seven picking up cricket and Ten securing the Melbourne Cup.

Viewers can now watch their favourite shows and live sport in 4K (four times the resolution of HD) thanks to the country's first 4K channel on Foxtel.

Sports fans can also watch all of their favourite sports from overseas on the new Australian streaming service Kayo, dubbed the "Netflix of sport", which launched last month.

Speaking of Netflix, the streaming giant filmed and released its first original Australian series Tidelands.

While the series has been largely panned by critics, it's a win for Queensland-based production company Hoodlum Entertainment which also released its Disney and ABC co-production Harrow earlier this year.

Show business lost some big names this year including comic book creator and Marvel godfather Stan Lee, soul singer Aretha Franklin, chef and TV presenter Anthony Bourdain, actor Burt Reynolds and Swedish DJ Avicii.